these systems are also called Human Capital Management systems, or HCM. In this article, we will use the terms HRIS and HRIS systems interchangeably.

keeps track of changes to anything related to employees

ability to offer self-service HR to employees and managers.

This includes material for the identification for employees in case of theft, fraud, or other misbehaviors, first contact information in case of accidents, citizens identification information for the tax

one plac

the tracking of data required to advance the HR and business strategy. Depending on the priorities of the organization, different data will be essential to track. This is where the HRIS comes in.

Record-keeping

time and attendance data from employees

Payroll automates the pay process of employee

is benefits management

This software handles all the company’s recruiting needs. It tracks candidate information and resumes,

allows HR to track qualification, certification, and skills of the employees, as well as an outline of available courses for company employees. This module is often referred to as an LMS, or Learning Management System, when it’s a stand-alone

talent pipeline and having replacements available

having employees and their direct supervisors manage their own data

involves the analysis of this data for better-informed decision making. We’ll explain more about this in the section below.

databases that record a company’s transactions. An example of a transaction is when an employee joins the company.

It includes modules on talent management, workforce rewards, workforce management, and work-life solutions.

They simply haven’t been designed for this. In addition, not all HRIS systems have all the above functionalities build-in.

as it means that data is dispersed into multiple systems. In order to report data, a new layer needs to be added on top of all HR systems to report and analyze the HR data.

These include Workday, Oracle, SAP, ADP, Ceridian, Kronos, and more. Listing all the HRIS suppliers would be impossible, so we decided to explicitly mention the four HCMs that are considered to be leaders.

they offer different suites including recruiting, learning, performance management, and an e-learning LMS.

Workday is arguably one of the best-known HRIS out there

These are systems that keep track of a company’s resources, which include among other things financial assets, orders, and people. In 2011, SAP acquired SuccessFactors,

. They are

HR, payroll, and talent management. Systems include time and attendance, onboarding, performance management, compensation, succession

on-the-job training to HR professionals in the use of the system. This function is usually in the IT arm of the HR department.

provides support for the HRIS. This includes researching and resolving HRIS problems and being a liaison with other parts of the business, like finance/payroll.

This means improving the employee experience in using the systems, coming up with user-friendly innovations, and implementing new policies to be reflected in the system.

IT is useful to understand the intricacies of the system while HRM helps to understand the processes that the HRIS is supporting.

the specific demands of the different stakeholders inside the company are inquired about.

you choose an implementation partner,

Here the functional and technical requirements for infrastructure,

a core test team is created.

communication plans need to be created, and Frequently Asked Question and other support documents created to benefit the software implementation and uptake.

the system can Go-Live. Feedback needs to be constantly collected and training material updated with the evolving systems. Cons

Know the total cost of all facility work done both directly and indirectly. “To the untrained eye, the facilities maintenance arm of a business appears to be a black hole of cost. The costs of these FM services add up, and unless discrepancies arise, that is where most of the business analysis ends. However, facilities maintenance managers, who are privy to all of the nuances that make up eac

h work order, understand the complexities and overhead involved in this sector of business.

Consider less obvious improvements that impact facility energy use. “Some energy-related projects will be more or less hidden from the users and primarily pursued to reduce energy demand, such as chiller and fan-unit upgrades. Such projects may end up providing the building users with better temperature control, but this is not the primary goal of the upgrade

Operational changes such as reducing the hours of HVAC and lighting operation, and changing setback temperatures, which require very little expenditure (if any at all) do not directly affect user experience, but can produce large reductions in electricity loads. In general, working with the building operations team to reduce energy use can produce impressive reductions in loa

his allows building and facility management professionals to determine whether the cost to improve a particular element of a building or a system in it against the cost savings over the same period. If the cost of an upgrade over its lifetime offers an advantage over the building operational costs it will save, then it’s generally considered a good investmen

“Finding the right suppliers to maintain your facilities can be difficult and time-consuming. From janitorial services, to groundskeeping and maintenance supplies, ensuring suppliers are providing apples-to-apples quotes, developing contracts with clear service levels, and validating that supplier quality

“Boilers today can reach efficiencies of up to 96 percent using condensing technology; however, a typical building, including new buildings, uses atmospheric type boilers which, for all intents and purposes, are only slightly more advanced than a science lab Bunsen burner. This technology is reliable and it works, but it is expensive to operate

An energy audit systematically identifies and develops opportunities to help reduce energy use in an institutional or commercial facility and, as a result, decrease building operating costs. Focusing the audit is imperative for maintenance and engineering managers.

“Commercial kitchens are high energy users, consuming roughly 2.5 times more energy per square foot than any other commercial space, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Of that, as little as 40% is used in the preparation and storage of food, says the UK’s Carbon Trust; much of the wasted energy is dispersed into the kitchen.

All commercial buildings are insulated; building codes make it mandatory to insulate up to  a certain level. Unfortunately, because most buildings are put up under strict guidance to budgets, they are usually put up with only the minimal amount of insulation

Develop performance measures for your PM process with an emphasis on measuring the amount of PM that is work completed compared to all other work. Total PM hours should be the highest percentage of all the department’s maintenance work. This goal might seem impossible, but over time, it is very achievable

“Preventative maintenance is all about planning, plain and simple. Every piece of equipment or machinery at your disposal or under your care should have a schedule of what type of maintenance it requires and when it requires that check-up.

“Failure modes are defined as “how something fails.” Let’s use a flat/membrane roof to show an example of what a failure mode is. On a flat/membrane roof, one failure mode may be “penetration of roof membrane,” and the causes of this failure mode could be many. Knowing the failure mode(s) of a specific maintainable item such as a membrane roof and its causes can be key to early detection of roof failure (not meeting the intent of the end user) so the repair can be made before it affects an operatio

“Catch small problems now before they become big ones. Addressing small details can add up to huge improvements in appearance and functionality. Ask your facilities services provider, janitorial company

You may schedule preventive maintenance based on meter readings on an equipment. However, equipment meters usually do not differentiate between work time and idle time

Greasing the rack and pinion of a beam saw, for instance, can cause grease and saw dust to solidify inside the gears over time, eventually preventing them from moving. If you’re unsure which tasks are beneficial to each piece of equipment, ask your equipment representative.”

Having spare parts and supplies around the time of a major preventive maintenance schedule is absolutely critical. Asset management software allows you to check the availability of the spare parts for dates when the work orders are due. This report can help you identify parts that are insufficient for the required work orders in the future. If you know which parts you are falling short on, you can order them in advance from suppliers rather than waiting till re-order limits are reached

“Appropriate repetition and reinforcement are necessary. The average person is bombarded with more than 300 messages while at work, and multiples of that outside of work, Finney says. Getting a message to land with an audience might take as many as 12 repetitions, in some cases, he says

Let’s get together: when you’re designing your facilities, design social spaces for your employees. These might be lunch or break rooms, games rooms, gyms, or even community gardens.

While other managers may work to manage clients or staff, your job is to manage facilities and all that occurs in them. Your corporation’s physical assets are just as important as your human resources, and you are the expert in this field. Whether it’s collating data or contributing to the organization’s bottom line, your input is a valuable part of corporate decision-making

 “Workplace inclusion has to be clearly defined before any initiatives can be pushed forward. One useful definition of an inclusive office is a workplace in which all staff are treated with respect and have equal access to resources and opportunities. Facility managers should build on this high-level description to create an idea of what concepts like equal access, diversity and fairness look like in their own facilities

Space costs money. Knowing that we are moving towards a working environment consisting of virtual or mobile workers, investing time in developing new workplace designs that can suit these new ways of working while increasing space utilization rates can result in impressive cost savings

Performing facility maintenance and engineering tasks is like sailing among icebergs. What technicians can’t see will sink them — or their facilities. Thermal imaging technology gives technicians the ability to see the unseen, making it easier to spot failing motors and electrical components,

This concept is broadly used to describe our attempt to formally identify in-house talent in many of our labor shops. We identify talent through a competitive selection process based on potential vs. skills and promote our selected personnel to the worker and helper level while training them to achieve appropriate full mechanic level with associated certifications/licenses

This directly leads to the client receiving a more fit-for-purpose solution and ultimately receiving greater value which grows a greater relationship.

In other words, there has to be a compelling reason based on our mission for why we would submit budgets for anything.” By presenting specific information on how and why you’ve chosen your budget numbers, you can help the C-suite see that your budget is well within reason

When you automate the work order process, you remove human error associated with it. Essentially, you’re taking the people out of the process and ensuring nothing gets missed or overlooked

“There are many different software options out there than can aid FMs in organizing and streamlining their everyday tasks. This ranges from software designed to help manage all maintenance activities to logging and tracking facility visitors for security purposes. 

uch smart sensors, operating costs are dramatically reduced, productivity is enhanced, and occupants’ comfort is improved.

“One of the most exciting features of Facilities Management software is the ability to manage heating and cooling remotely, or set a programmable thermostat to move set temperatures up or down throughout the day. Facilities planners love the ability to analyze and explore energy use from heating and cooling systems

“Maintenance and facilities administration systems must frequently abide by national and global regulatory requirements. All maintenance administrators face occasional random or audits inspections by regulatory authorities. Maintenance software enables you to prove regulatory conformity and decrease the amount of paperwork and preparation that is needed for an audit.

KPIs allude to opportunities and errors in your company. Paired with the Internet of Things (IoT) and energy management systems, KPIs can be used to highlight missed maintenance tasks, greater traffic area of your business or problems with machinery

“Closely monitoring energy and water use to reduce building-operating costs is another benefit. By allowing owners to monitor and analyze the performance of multiple systems—air-conditioning levels, lights on automatic dimmers, water usage

“A feature that’s gaining a lot of ground is using facial recognition technology to let people in and out of the building. It’s more secure than key fobs or cards, and unlike cards and fobs, you can’t forget your face at home. It’s like batting a triple, or killing three birds with one stone

You cannot do your job properly without the correct information. If you don’t have proper records on the state of your facilities, you can’t do your job as a facilities manager.

“A surprising number of facilities managers have no true system in place for managing their space.  More than a quarter of everyone interviewed – 28 percent –

. It may help significantly with compliance with various industry standards, such as HIPAA in the healthcare industry and Sarbanes-Oxley in the financial field. It can help to document best practices for avoiding accidents, or in the worst case scenario,

This method identifies how critical a piece of equipment or maintenance task is to your business and will ultimately show you where it should land in your prioritization process

Smartsheet is a spreadsheet that you share with your co-workers, but its features go far beyond Excel. This tool combines the traditional spreadsheet with project management tools, templates, and forms and allows you and your colleagues to access spreadsheets on mobile devices and work on them collaboratively

The business world is increasingly embracing a larger remote workforce. Offices are used as areas to collaborate, develop, and design new ideas. The day-to-day work can be, and often is, done from home

“Another possibility for cutting costs, say experts, is not just moving staff around, but moving work around also. This means carefully examining all outsourcing contracts to see if they can be scaled back and the work completed by in-house staff

“Verify assets from a minimum of two data points, such as the barcode and the item’s serial number.

After collecting data and developing a maintenance schedule for your assets, you need to plan for the long-term maintenance of your asset inventory

However good asset management and maintenance planning is, there comes a time when an asset reaches the end of its useful life and should be disposed of.

“If you’re trying to get a handle of your documents, the first thing you should do is an asset assessment. Detail the condition of all the main equipment and systems, and document those conditions

Strategic asset management integrates key relationships between planning and delivery activities.

Maximize your use of vertical cubic footage by placing seasonal products or those that move less frequently in harder-to-reach vertical storage areas

As a part of this program, the chain tapped a popular Turkish loyalty app called Shopping Genie, to target customers while they were around the premises of a local McD Café.  Customers got mobile coupons, via the app, which prompted them to purchase a coffee and receive a beverage from the new drink line for free. This proximity marketing campaign via beacons helped McDonald’s achieve 20% conversion rate with 30% of users who received the promotion!

Bluetooth beacons were deployed at the point of purchase, where customers were waiting in line to pay or just moving around.

These beacon notifications offered two Red Bull cans for $4! Apart from making a profit out of campaigns, Red Bull also monitored the entire campaign in real-time and captured customer behaviour.

The retail giant used GE light bulbs to house beacons and send push notifications of specials and discount coupons to in-store customers. These beacon-equipped LED bulbs can track shoppers within a store by using the beacons hidden inside them

Carrefour has extensive iBeacon networks in all 28 of its hypermarkets in Romania through which the retail chain offers its consumers a simple, intuitive, and fun app for orientation inside hypermarkets from area to area

The retailer’s beacon-enabled app automates the commercial content delivery and collects essential data about in-store consumer behaviour. Its proximity marketing campaign keeps consumers informed about the products, services, and actual special offers from each of the store departments.

Popular convenience store group Nisa piloted iBeacon technology to track its shoppers by attaching Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to trolleys and baskets

These sensors picked up the signals emitted by beacons and collected location data which was then fed to a cloud-based server for analysis.

used iBeacon technology to gamify the Ladies’ Night event with brands providing offers, discounts, freebies, and prize giveaways. Many retailers such as Hotel Chocolat, Krispy Kreme, Cath Kidston, and House of Fraser, participated in the event

The event was highly successful as it saw more than 500 app downloads within the first three hours, with over 500 offers redeemed. All 120 hotspot offers were redeemed within the first 52 minutes of the event.

Best Buy implemented a beacon strategy to help boost sales and improve personalisation of experience. The retail giant chose to use their own application as well as Shopkick retailing app to offer rewards to shoppers, simply for stepping foot in the door.

Hammerson rolled out beacons across their shopping centres to improve personalisation of consumers’ shopping experience. Their beacon-enabled Plus app was initially trialled at Les Terrasses du Port in Marseille and it ranked among the top 10 lifestyle apps in France.

The app also allows a consumer to call for assistance. A member of the staff receives the request informing them that a customer is waiting for help

UK supermarket Waitrose started using iBeacon technology at its relatively new experimental Swindon store to deliver price promotions to consumers when they were near a particular aisle or food counter

UK supermarket giant Tesco launched its “biggest trial” of iBeacon technology, in partnership with consumer goods company Unilever, by deploying beacons in 270 stores across London. They launched the ‘Mpulse app’ as a part of the Pink and Black marketing campaign

using beacons to target passers-by based on their interest. They change campaigns based on distinct seasons including prom season at colleges

Oscar Mayer worked out an interesting deal with the supermarkets which would allow them to place beacons at the deli counter. This location helps them convince shoppers to buy the specials of the week while waiting at the counter.

Amazon, the retail giant started a new convenience store in Seattle, U.S. in Jan 2018. Amazon Go is an 1800 sq feet mini market filled with food and technology. They have deployed an array of cameras, beacons and other proximity sensors to make the store one-of-a-kind

World-famous brands such as Hamleys, Armani, Longchamp, and Hackett form the 80% of the retail companies that have deployed beacons in their Regent Street stores with the aim of pushing exclusive and personalised marketing messages to customers via iBeacon technology. Shoppers receive alerts and tailored content about everything, from new in-store promotions to exclusive offers only available for visitors to Regent Street, as they pass

Neiman Marcus, the high-end retail chain, piloted beacons at three stores—Austin, TX, Walnut Creek, CA, and San Antonio.

Rite Aid has installed beacons in over 4,500 US stores for retargeting and personalization of user experience. This large-scale beacon deployment by the Pharmacy chain is the largest beacon installation program in a retail setting till date. In fact, it has even surpassed the one undertaken by the famous Macy’s

a collection of beacon-level proximity data to strategize their retargeting plan and achieve personalization capabilities similar to those that have been used in e-commerce

Walgreens has innovated considerably in the mobile retail space by using iBeacon and other technologies at over 7000 locations.

leveraged iBeacon technology at ten of its stores to boost its loyalty program.

Target, the second largest general merchandise retailer in the US, announced that it will start testing beacon technology in 50 of its stores nationwide.

The recommendations may appear both as push alerts and in-app updates on the Target app’s “Target Run” page, which is designed like a social media news feed offering deals, top-pinned items on Pinterest, and more

beacons to bridge the gap between online shopping and in-store experience. Their beacon-enabled app notifies consumers if any item in their mobile shopping bag is in stock,

The store has deployed beacons with individualized campaigns for each department, which makes the customer experience interesting and focussed

Macy’s expanded its beacon program to all stores nationwide, by installing more than 4,000 beacons. This step was a part of the retailer’s efforts to make bigger investments in omnichannel retail technologies. This Thanksgiving, Macy’s also used a beacon-triggered mobile app game at its 700 stores, to engage shoppers

Urban Outfitters announced that they will be rolling out beacons at 15 of their stores located in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, and Delaware, more than a year ago. The US multichannel fashion and homewares retailer decided to take a different route unlike the conventional route of using aggressive promotions.

Kenneth Cole is using beacons to create more compelling, personalized customer experiences with an aim to “provide value and offer at the time of need when customers are in the store

launched beacon networks in more than 100 of its top-performing stores located in states such as Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. The idea was to implement iBeacon technology at the stores with the highest traffic levels and best traction with Shopkick.

Supermarket giant Woolworths successfully completed a beacon trial with one store using iBeacon technology to improve customer service around click-and-collect. Thereafter, the chain announced that they are looking to roll out beacons across all of its 254 click-and-collect stores with the aim of allowing consumers to place their order online and pick them up in-store

it has decided to distribute free BLE beacons to about 150,000 gas-station convenience stores in the United States and Canada

Alex and Ani used beacons in all of its 40 stores to optimize store layouts and product placement. Contrary to popular belief that beacons are only for ‘pushing’ ads, the popular Rhode Island-based jewellery brand used beacons differently in its trial period without using them to promote flash sales and other discount promotions.

Event management platform can help you plan, promote, engage and measure your events. From budgeting, finding venues, creating events online, engaging attendees to reporting, collecting feedback and measuring the return on investment of your events

Event management platform is certainly a modern supermarket for all event planners.

It’s a testing proposition when key stakeholders are involved and no one teaches this diplomacy skill before throwing you in front of the wolves

Find venues or check attendees in with the power of an event management platform and save cost and time spent on haggling with vendors.

An integrated event management platform organizes processes by allowing seamless flow of data between different CRM systems. This reduces effort of manually updating different spreadsheets and optimizes departments working on the event

Integration also reduces the risk of typos and other errors that may creep in while transferring crucial data manually between different systems

Other benefits amongst the endless list include smart social media and email marketing and online registration and payment processes. With so many event management solutions available in the market, it is definitely worth to have a closer look at the myriad options. But before you start laying your hands on an integrated event management platform, you should also be aware of some of the challenges of event management platform

an event planner in a non-profit would require a platform that can help them reach their development goals and retain donors, while a planner in any corporation would focus on planning and reporting internal and external events

A disparate point solution on the other hand, may provide you the flexibility but may not provide you other benefits of a platform and may not integrate with your CRMs.

event planners and marketers wear different hats all the time and a proper platform can not only help them streamline and automate most of their manual planning tasks, it can also make them more efficient and save a lot of time and cost

It may not be a “magic bullet” for any organization, but it can definitely provide a magical touch if used properly. With proper help, you and your team can achieve the next level of success and deliver memorable events with a higher return on investments.

he best thing I can say will bring success to any technology exec is to get a coach.

Their coach helps them be accountable, bounce ideas around and will be there for them when they need advice and support.

Are their technologies and teams going to scale to the challenges they are facing today and tomorrow

Quick service restaurants are launching self-service ordering and payment, keeping lines shorter and serving customers faster

These solutions should meet all Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards, including best practices for skimming prevention.

Unattended payment solutions represent the chance for you to enter the market as the opportunity grows

Not only does this give you a broader market in which to sell your solutions, it can also differentiate your business from direct-selling POS providers, positioning you more strongly to compete

property management software still consistently fails on the hospitality side of things.

property managers with six or more listings appear to hedge their distribution bets saying they list across multiple platforms.

managers who counted one or more gaps in their PMS

fifth of respondents having between one to five listings listing exclusively on the service.

PMSs are mostly focused on helping property managers get the reservation

58% of property managers unable to single out a technology that has most impact on their business.

“In our society, we always have to have the new, best product,” said Aaron Blum, the co-founder and chief operating officer of ERI, on a tour of the facility

Even when e-waste rules exist, it’s left up to consumers to handle their old devices prop

But less than a quarter of all U.S. electronic waste is recycled, according to a United Nations estimate. The rest is incinerated or ends up in landfills

Environmental concerns aside, compacting flammable lithium-ion batteries with paper recycling can be dangerous; recycling centers have reported an uptick in fires

5G promises faster speeds and other benefits. But experts say it will also result in a dramatic increase in e-waste, as millions of smartphones, modems and other gadgets incompatible with 5G networks are made obsolete

ly. But recycling them can be a

We don’t necessarily have the measures to make sure people aren’t throwing it away,” Walters said.

Even so, some companies are increasing their recycling efforts on their own, whether for the economic benefit or the public relations boost (mining fresh materials has financial, environmental and human costs of its own). For instance, Apple in 2018 introduced Daisy, a smartphone-recycling robot that can take apart 200 iPhones every hour, and says it diverted 48,000 metric tons of electronic waste from landfills that year

Our products today don’t last as long as they used to, and it’s a strategy by manufacturers to force us in

o shorter and shorter upgrade cycles,” said Kyle Wiens, the founder of iFixit

Some environmental groups say multibillion-dollar companies like Apple and Samsung should pick up the cost of recycling the devices they sell. Lawmakers in parts of Europe and Canada and in some U.S. states have passed so-called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, which require manufacturers to establish and fund systems to recycle or collect obsolete products

One solution is to make electronics last as long as they once did. At ERI’s facility, Shegerian showed TIME dozens of televisions from the 1970s and 1980s that stopped working only recently

The distribution model is broken, and airlines are signing GDS contracts pretty much wit

h a gun to their head.

customers simply want access to content

Our role is to use our size and influence to talk to GDSs, get them to the table, to airlines about how do we move forward.

The distribution model is broken, and airlines are signing GDS contracts pretty much with a gun to their head, and I don’t think that’s a healthy or sustainable way

But the longer we cling to this old model that’s been around forever and doesn’t work

The consensus among panelists was that the GDSs have been slow to advance the technology needed to help airlines achieve their distribution goals with NDC.

They’ve been very slow to advance their technology. When NDC becomes a commercial issue, that’s not what [NDC] is

GDSs are realizing, you better catch up or you’re going to be in trouble.”

has been slow to meet the needs of the end traveler, and it’s up to those in the industry to scrutinize whatever is blocking that path.

the GDS doesn’t acknowledge products, it’s hard to build.

The customer is suffering. There are products created for their benefit they cannot see and cannot buy

It’s not just about shopping, not just about selection

“We have to do it in a way where the whole process can be effectively managed for the traveler/buyer. Different suppliers are going at different paces. What we don’t want is an inconsistent experience for the end custom

With airlines having different capabilities and services and moving at different speeds, and the GDS having to do individual implementation for each, it becomes more complicated.

You did shit across the last decade. The GDS playbook for the past 10 years was, ‘What if we sit here and do nothing and see if it goes away?’ Now airlines have some success, and now your hand is forced. You had ample time to do it

deliver more personalized experiences for travelers, saving time and providing greater convenience that will ultimately raise the standard for the travel industry overall.”

Sabre is not the only travel company to declare its data service ambitions in the past week, with Lufthansa also announcing a partnership with Google Cloud.

Detlef Kayser, a member of the executive board of Lufthansa Group, says: "This will enable us to identify possible flight irregularities even earlier and implement countermeasures at an early stage.”

ok to work wit

Look for technologies that provide a code-free interface that can be managed by non-technical staf

cloud-connected devices will grow, adapt and change with your hotel’s (or hotel group’s) needs.

They’ll enable the personalization your guests expect and the fleet-management tools your hotel operations require.

technologies that are agnostic in approach and play well with others.

ook to devices that provide the same - perhaps brand standard - features that your guests expect, but in a modern future proof way. A great new example is the Echo Dot with a clock from Amazon

A great example of a feature-rich solution in the hotel technology market today

s the energy management system from INTEREL

has a lot of features - including Bluetooth beaconing - that you may not see the need for today, but, mark my words, you will in the future.

Leapfrogging over technologies that clearly have a shelf life is a giant step forward in the quest to protect against future switching costs.

Look at the track record of your potential partne

Technology is not static, and custom-building a product inherently means continued development costs just to keep up with change